THE CORRECT IN THE ENDGAME

by

Eduardas Rozentalis

www.thinkerspublishing.com Managing Editor Romain Edouard

Assistant Editor Daniël Vanheirzeele

Proofreader Bernard Carpinter

Graphic Artist Philippe Tonnard

Cover design Iwan Kerkhof

Typesetting i-Press ‹www.i-press.pl›

Second edition 2018 by Th inkers Publishing

Th e Correct Exchange in the Endgame Copyright © 2018 Eduardas Rozentalis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-94-9251-019-8 D/2018/13730/1

All sales or enquiries should be directed to Th inkers Publishing, 9000 Gent, Belgium. e-mail: [email protected] website: www.thinkerspublishing.com TABLE OF CONTENTS

KEY TO SYMBOLS 5 PREFACE 7 INTRODUCTION 9

CHAPTER 1. EVALUATION OF THE EXCHANGE 15

Simplifi cation in a better position 15 Simplifi cation in an inferior position 19 Exchange of the most active piece of the opponent 21 Exchange of a piece leads to a change in a structure 26 The pair advantage 27 EXERCISES 31 SOLUTIONS 35

CHAPTER 2. CALCULATION OF THE EXCHANGE 41

Forced simplifi cation of the position 41 Exchange as part of a forced variation 42 Exchange as a part of complications in an inferior position 44 EXERCISES 47 SOLUTIONS 51

CHAPTER 3. THE EXCHANGE: WHEN, WHERE, WHICH? 57

When to exchange? 57 Where to exchange? 59 Which piece to exchange? 64 EXERCISES 69 SOLUTIONS 73

CONCLUSION 83 TEST 89 TEST SOLUTIONS 107 KEY TO SYMBOLS

! a good move ?a weak move !! an excellent move ?? a !? an interesing move ?! a dubious move  only move =equality  unclear position  with for the sacrifi ced material  White stands slightly better  Black stands slightly better  White has a serious advantage  Black has a serious advantage +- White has a decisive advantage -+ Black has a decisive advantage  with an attack  with  with counterplay  with the idea of  better is  worse is Nnovelty + #mate PREFACE OF THE 2ND EDITION

In the Informant 120 I published an article “Going for a pawn ending — cal- culate the right exchange”.

Having received much positive feedback, I considered writing a book on this subject: how to decide about the transition to a pawn ending. However recently an excellent book “Liquidation on the Board” has been written by Joel Benjamin and this persuaded me to reconsider the general concept and change the subject to the exchange of pieces in the endgame.

When should we exchange a piece in the endgame and when should we keep it? Why is it so important? How to make a right choice? In this book we ex- amine diff erent types of endings and off er guidance to decide upon the cor- rect decision. We will focus mainly on the exchange of pieces, not pawns. Th e exchange of pawns will be the subject of a separate book.

Going through the instructive examples and numerous exercises you will see all the important aspects of the piece exchange in the endgame, and enrich your knowledge and understanding of the fi nal stage of the chess game. Try- ing to solve the positions, you will certainly improve your decision-making ability and analysing skills.

Th e fi rst edition of the book was very well accepted by chess players of diff erent levels. I am especially happy that many chess coaches and teachers found it useful for their training programme. Th e book was announced a silver winner of the Boleslavsky Award 2016 by the FIDE Trainer’s Commission. Together with Th inkers Publishing we decided to produce a second, extended edition. I hope it will be successful as well.

Eduardas Rozentalis October 2017 INTRODUCTION

I would like to start with a complete Th is is a side variation. However, we game. The middlegame stage was will not discuss the opening here, as very short in this game; it transposed our subject is exchanges and the end- to the endgame soon aft er the open- game. ing. Th is game will show us the con- nection between the fi rst two stag- 6.d4 exd4 7.xd4 es and the endgame as well as the importance of the exchange. I have 8 r+lwqk+ntr picked it because there were no any 7 +pzp-+pzpp tactical complications and pure stra- 6 p+pvl-+-+ tegic ideas can be clearly seen. 5 +-+-+-+- 4 ▷ -+-wQP+-+ E. Rozentalis 3 ▶ T. Wedberg +-+-+N+- 2 PzPP+-zPPzP New York, 1997 1 tRNvL-+RmK- abcdefgh 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 a6 4.xc6 White achieved one of his main goals: he exchanged a couple of cen- Th is is the Exchange variation of Ruy tral pawns which gives him a clean Lopez. White exchanges his Bishop pawn majority on the kingside, while to change the black . It Black’s majority on the queenside is is by far not the main variation of the less striking as he has . but a quite popular open- ing among many players who cannot 7...f6 8.e3 e7 9.bd2 e6 or do not want to study or play very 10.c3 complex and long variations. It does not promise White any essential ad- White wishes to move his to vantage, but just gives solid and clear c4, but the immediate 10.c4? would play. I used it practically my whole lose a pawn: 10...xh2+ 11.xh2 chess career and it delivered me many xd4 12.xd4 xc4. wins. 10...0–0 11.c4 4...dxc6 5.0–0 d6 10 THE CORRECT EXCHANGE IN THE ENDGAME

8 r+-wq-trk+ 8 r+-+rwq-mk 7 +pzp-sn-zpp 7 +pzp-+-zpp 6 p+pvllzp-+ 6 p+p+-zpn+ 5 +-+-+-+- 5 +-wQ-+-+- 4 -+N+P+-+ 4 -+-sNP+-+ 3 +-wQ-vLN+- 3 +P+-+-+- 2 PzPP+-zPPzP 2 P+P+-zPPzP 1 tR-+-+RmK- 1 +-+RtR-mK- abcdefgh abcdefgh White starts his simple plan: to ex- change as many pieces as possi- 19.xf8+ xf8 20.f3 ble, meanwhile exploiting his pawn structure advantage. White has achieved a lot. He has an extra pawn in the centre, which one 11...xc4? day he will be able to make good use of. As for Black’s extra pawn on the My opponent, Wed- queenside, it is doubled and much berg, allowed me to implement this more diffi cult to use it in an effi cient plan totally. He should have kept the way. Bishop and played 11...g6. 20...ad8 21.f2 12.xc4+ h8 13. ad1 e8 14.c5 xc5? It’s an endgame, so both sides can and should bring their Kings closer Once again, Black should not have to the centre. exchanged the Bishop. 14...d8 was the correct move, inviting White to 21...g8 22.f5 f7 23.e3 b5 exchange on d6 which would have improved Black’s pawn structure. Of course Black should try to organ- ize some play on the queenside, but 15.xc5 g6 16. fe1 f7 17.b3 fe8 this move also weakens his pawns. 18.d4 f8? He should probably have considered Voluntarily going for an endgame. 23...a5 24.a4 b6 followed by ...e6, re- White is more active and better, but locating the Knight to d4 or c5. the middlegame with Queens on the board would have given more chanc- 24.xd8 es for Black to equalize. INTRODUCTION 11

Th e moment has come to exchange 26...c5 27.e3 e6 28.f4 all Rooks. Th e white pawns are ready to move 24...xd8 25.d1 forward, seizing more space.

8 -+-tr-sn-+ 28...d7 29.b2 7 +-zp-+kzpp 6 p+p+-zp-+ It is equally important to improve the 5 +p+-+-+- Knight’s location. 4 -+-+P+-+ 3 +P+-sNP+- 29...d6 30.g3 2 P+P+-mKPzP White is in no hurry. 1 +-+R+-+- abcdefgh 30...e6 31.d3 d6 32.g4

25...xd1? Time to move the pawn.

Black exchanges the last and 32...c4 33.bxc4 bxc4 34.b4 c6 fi nds himself in a probably lost posi- tion. He absolutely should have kept 8 -+-+-+-+ one Rook. 7 +-+n+-zpp 6 p+pmk-zp-+ Better was 25...a8! aft er which Black 5 +-+-+-+- preserves his chances to get some 4 -sNp+PzPP+ counter-play on the queenside. 3 +-+-mK-+- 2 26.xd1 P+P+-+-zP 1 +-+-+-+- After swapping so many pieces abcdefgh we now reached a Knight ending. White has a clear advantage in the 35.a3! form of an extra pawn in the cen- tre, which allows him to organize a Such endgames usually do not re- . In his turn Black has quire long calculations, just two or very little chance of creating a passed three precise moves ahead should do pawn, as his pawns are doubled. Th e the job. White prepares the way for Knight endgame is strategically won his Knight heading towards a2-c3. for White. All he needs is an accurate and precise technique to bring home Of course, not 35.xa6? c5 and the the full point. Knight is trapped. 12 THE CORRECT EXCHANGE IN THE ENDGAME

35...a5 36.a2 b6 37.c3 45...h5+ 46.f3 f7 47.e3 e6 48.f5+ We can see that the Knight is relo- cated excellently. It blocks the black With this move White prefers to win pawn and restricts the black Knight. the black h-pawn instead of making a passed pawn in the centre. 37...c5 38.h4 48...f7 49.f4 e5 50.c3 Now the queenside is blocked. White can move his kingside pawns. 8 -+-+-+-+ 7 +-+-+k+- 38...e6 39.b5 d7 40.g5 e6 6 -+-+-zp-+ 41.gxf6 5 zp-zp-snP+p 4 -+p+PsN-zP White exchanges the pawns, thus 3 zP-zP-mK-+- making the black f- and h-pawns his 2 future targets. -+-+-+-+ 1 +-+-+-+- 41...gxf6 42.c3 abcdefgh Once again White should not be in a Black is in and the white hurry and should prevent any coun- pieces are starting to penetrate his ter-play. Black wanted to play ...c4-c3, side of the board. followed by ...c4. Now this door is closed for good! 42...d7 43.d5 f7 44.f3 g6 45.g4 50...e7 51.xh5 d3 52.f4 e1 53.a4 8 -+-+-+-+ 7 +-+n+-+p Th e last accuracy. Black can’t attack 6 -+-+-zpk+ this pawn any more and is down- 5 zp-zpN+-+- and-out. 4 -+p+PzPKzP 3 zP-+-+-+- 1–0 2 -+P+-+-+ Th is was a clear example of a stra- 1 +-+-+-+- tegic advantage which nicely dem- abcdefgh onstrated that White had good rea- Th e white goes forward compel- sons to accept the exchange of every ling Black to move his h-pawn, which piece because aft er every simplifi ca- will become a real weakness. tion his winning chances were grow- ing. Conversely, Black should have INTRODUCTION 13 avoided this at any cost or at least To avoid boring and dry commen- thought twice before exchanging a tary I also used several instructive piece and determined which ones to positions from the excellent daily e- keep. Th erefore, we can now under- newspaper “” from my stand that while White had no diffi - good friend, Irish Grandmaster Alex culty solving this problem Black had Baburin. Alex, I owe you a drink or a far more diffi cult task. two!

However, in many cases, the task is Th e book consists of two parts: a the- not as easy to solve as in this example oretical part and a test. and both sides have to be very careful when deciding to go for a simplifi ca- In the fi rst part we will try to work tion or keep the pieces on the board. out the correct way of thinking about Every piece exchange shift s the posi- evaluating the exchange, calculating tion dramatically, meaning this is a the exchange and deciding which very important long-term decision. piece, when and where we should or Quite oft en we reach an endgame should not exchange. As I do believe while being in time-trouble. This a and pieces can speak makes our decision diffi cult as we better than pure words I will explain don’t have enough time to calculate general ideas while analysing the long variations and we need to trust concrete positions. our intuition. Every chapter also contains exercis- Every chess player can fi nd many ex- es. Th ey correspond to the concrete amples in his own practice. Oft en he items. First try to fi nd the right de- needs extensive analysis to conclude cision yourself. Th en we can discuss if his decision in the game was cor- them and you will see how much you rect or wrong. But such work always have learnt. pays off in the long run. Th e test consists only of exercises, Th is way we signifi cantly improve mainly more complicated than in the our endgame understanding. Study- fi rst part. Th ey require a wide range ing endgames of top players is also of your endgame skills. It will allow very useful. However, the games of you to check your abilities and enrich the best world players can easily be your endgame skills. found on every chess website and in chess magazines. Th erefore, I decid- And now, my dear reader, let’s start ed to present to you some less well- talking about the correct exchange in known endgames. Mainly examples the endgame. come from my own practice. CHAPTER 1. EVALUATION OF THE EXCHANGE

First of all, if we consider the possible ▷ E. Rozentalis exchange of a piece we have to evalu- ▶ A. Weindl ate the consequences. Stockholm, 1990 What will we get as a result? Will our position really improve? Maybe 8 l+-+-+-+ by we will reach a well- 7 zP-+-+-mk- known theoretical position, or our 6 -+-wq-+-+ pawn structure might be improved. 5 +-+-+-+Q 4 -+-+-+p+ Let us have a closer look at the most 3 +-+-+-zP- common reasons for an exchange. 2 And equally important, the oppo- -+-+-+PmK site: why we sometimes should re- 1 +-+-+-+- frain from an exchange. abcdefgh

 Simplifi cation 73...h6 in a better position Black is a piece up and heads for Quite oft en it is useful to exchange some simplifi cation by exchanging some pieces when we have extra ma- the Queens. But fi rst of all he needs terial or a positional advantage, be- to evaluate the position arising aft er cause then our opponent will have this exchange. less counter-play. 74.h4

White in his turn, should notice that the exchange of the Queens leads to a lost position. Th us he has to avoid the simplifi cation.

Let’s check what happens aft er the exchange of the Queens: 74.xh6+? 16 THE CORRECT EXCHANGE IN THE ENDGAME

xh6 75.g1 g5 76.f2 f5 77.f1 cupied at guarding two dangerous Th e white King cannot leave his g2- White passed pawns and the white pawn unprotected as the black Bish- King can assist those pawns. op would capture it. 77...e4 78.f2 d3 Th e black King goes forward, and 75.g1 sooner or later the white King will fi nd 8 himself in a zugzwang position. 79.f1 l+-+-+-+ e3 80.g1 e2 81.h1 f1 82.h2 7 zP-+-+-+- 6 -+-+-+kwq 8 l+-+-+-+ 5 7 zP-+-+-+- +-+-+-+- 6 -+-+-+-+ 4 -+-+-+pwQ 5 +-+-+-+- 3 4 +-+-+-zP- -+-+-+p+ 2 3 +-+-+-zP- -+-+-+P+ 2 -+-+-+PmK 1 +-+-+-mK- 1 +-+-+k+- abcdefgh abcdefgh Once more, White’s only chance. 82...f2 White has to give up both Exchanging on h6 is losing, as we pawns. (Of course, not 82...xg2?? already discussed, while 75.h1 al- because of the aft er 83.a8 lows the winning exchange 75... xa8) xh4+ 76.gxh4 h5, and White los- es a pawn, as the g2-pawn is pinned 74...g6 and can’t protect the pawn on h4.

White’s is pinned, so Black 75...xh4? can safely move his King. It would be a big mistake to exchange the A bad evaluation or a lack of knowl- Queens now without a prop- edge! er evaluation of the position af- ter 74...xh4+?? 75.gxh4 g6 76.g3 If Black didn’t play so quickly and wrongly, he would have easily dis- 8 l+-+-+-+  7 zP-+-+-+- covered the road to victory: 75... e3+ 6 -+-+-+k+ avoiding the exchange 76.f1 e4 5 +-+-+-+- 77.h2 and White has to protect the 4 -+-+-+pzP pawn. But now his Queen is placed 3 +-+-+-zP- on a very passive square. Aft er 77... 2 -+-+-+-mK d5! the black Bishop comes closer 1 +-+-+-+- to the white King and a mating attack abcdefgh is inevitable. Only White can have some winning chances, as both black pieces are oc- 76.gxh4 g3 CHAPTER 1. EVALUATION OF THE EXCHANGE 17

Most likely Black stopped his eval- uation right here when analyzing ▷ E. Schmittdiel the exchange. He thought that af- ▶ E. Rozentalis ter capturing the h4-pawn he would have an easy win. But he was not Dortmund, 1993 aware that the position with an ex- tra Bishop and a pawn on g2 versus 8 -+-+-+-+ a pawn on g3 is a theoretical . 7 zp-+-+-+- 6 -+-+KtR-+ 77.h5+ xh5 78.h1 5 zPk+r+-+p 4 8 l+-+-+-+ -vL-+-+rzP 3 7 zP-+-+-+- +-zP-+-+- 2 6 -+-+-+-+ -+-+-+-+ 1 5 +-+-+-+k +-+-+-+- 4 -+-+-+-+ abcdefgh 3 +-+-+-zp-  2 -+-+-+P+ White has a pawn for the exchange 1 +-+-+-+K and some drawing chances. abcdefgh Black cannot win this position. 50...c4 White will be happy to give up his a7-pawn. Th e white King has a safe Black activates his pieces and also haven on the squares h1 and g1. And wants to exchange Rooks. 50...c6 if the black King arrives to f2 or f1 it would give White counter chances: is stalemate. 51.e7+ c7 52.e6.

78...g5 79.g1 f4 80.h1 1/2 51.f7

Another example: As his h4-pawn is hanging White has to attack the black pawn!

51...e4+ 52.f6 f4+!

Black wants to exchange Rooks.

52...xh4 53.xa7 f4+ would also give Black the better position but White would keep some chances in a sharp fi ght aft er 54.g6 h4 55. h7. 18 THE CORRECT EXCHANGE IN THE ENDGAME

53.g6 xf7 54.xf7 a6 59...f5+

A useful move. The black pawn Th e black pieces are well coordinated. should be on a light square because Th ey are masters of the light squares. White owns the dark Bishop. 60.e6 55.f6 d3 In case of 60.g6, the black King Th e black King is coming to the cen- marches to the h4-pawn: 60...f4 tre. 61.c4 g4 62.c5 f4–+

56.g6 b5 60...f4 61.e7 d3

8 -+-+-+-+ Th e black pieces start attacking the 7 +-+-+-+- white pawns. 6 p+-+-+K+ 5 zPr+-+-+p 62.g5 a4 63.d8 c4 64.f5 4 -vL-+-+-zP 3 +-zPk+-+- White is not able to protect all of his 2 pawns, he now must attack a black one. -+-+-+-+ 64.f6 was losing as well: 64...c5–+ 1 +-+-+-+- abcdefgh 64...xc3 65.g6 c5 66.g5 When he went for the rook exchange, Black evaluated this position as being 8 -+-+-+-+ close to winning. Of course not an 7 +-+-+-+- easy win but also no any risk of los- 6 p+-+-+K+ ing, obviously as important in a prac- 5 zP-tr-+-vLp tical game. In addition, his advantage 4 -+-+-+-zP is static. Th is means that he can try 3 +-+k+-+- diff erent plans while his advantage 2 will not evaporate! -+-+-+-+ 1 +-+-+-+- 57.f6 e4 58.e6 abcdefgh

Th e Bishop is stuck, so only the white 66...e4! King can move. Th e black King is approaching, in- 58...d5 59.f6 tending to box in the white King if he captures the pawn on h5. Th is is 59.c4 d4–+ much stronger and practical than CHAPTER 1. EVALUATION OF THE EXCHANGE 19

66...xa5 which is probably also win- 75.b6 xb6 76.axb6 c6 77.e6 ning aft er 67.xh5 e4. xb6–+

67.xh5 f5 68.d2 c8 75...c6 76.e3 c4 77.b6 b5

We can see the diff erence between White resigned. He cannot prevent a Rook and a Bishop in an open po- the fi nal exchange on b6, aft er which sition. Th e Bishop is restricted to the the pawn ending is lost because the squares of its own colour and can op- white King is too far from the a-pawn. erate only on the diagonals, while the Rook is very mobile on all the fi les 0–1 and lines.

69.h6 Simplifi cation in an Otherwise, White loses his Bishop. inferior position For example: 69.h6 g8 70.g5 h8+ 71.h6 f6 If our opponent has the material or positional advantage, we might come 69...h8+ 70.g7 xh4 71.e3 closer to a draw by exchanging the correct piece. It can diminish the 8 -+-+-+-+ pressure or lead to a theoretical draw. 7 +-+-+-mK- 6 p+-+-+-+ ▷ R. Fontaine 5 zP-+-+k+- ▶ E. Rozentalis 4 -+-+-+-tr 3 +-+-vL-+- Istanbul, 2003 2 -+-+-+-+ 8 -+-+-mk-+ 1 +-+-+-+- 7 +-+l+p+p abcdefgh 6 -vlN+-tr-+ 5 +-+-+-+- 71...e4 4 P+-+-+-+ 3 +-tR-+LzP- Once again, the Rook can cut off the 2 white King while providing a safe -+-+-zPK+ route for his own King. 1 +-+-+-+- abcdefgh 72.b6 e6 73.f7 e5 74.d4+ d5 75.f2 